How to use LinkedIn to Grow Your Brand's Influence
LinkedIn isn't just useful to see what your old buddies from work are up to these days. Billed as a professional social network, LinkedIn is a powerful job hunting and career networking platform that has an incredible global reach.
Despite its surging popularity and rising user base, it remains under utilized as a marketing platform by many brands who would much rather focus their energies on the main social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
In this day and age, it’s imperative that brands recognize the unique position of LinkedIn that makes it such a powerful tool to increase their brand’s influence.
LinkedIn is a powerful social media platform in its own right
LinkedIn has been around for a long time, it was actually launched even before Facebook. It's safe to say that LinkedIn isn't some passing fad. It's a proven social media network that's in it for the long haul. Users also view it favorably as it's been voted the most trusted social network in the United States.
It doesn't have a billion-plus users like some of the other social networks do. However, it's important to remember that those social networks have all sorts of users. LinkedIn primarily attracts professionals interested in a business-oriented network. It boasts impressive numbers as well. At last count, LinkedIn had nearly 800 million members across the globe.
Over the years, LinkedIn has transformed into a professional network and is no longer just a recruitment platform. Users can post content, stream video and do much more. Content on LinkedIn actually gets 15x more impressions than job postings.
Some of you may also be surprised to find out that LinkedIn is the top network for B2B content marketers. It's used by 96% of them to be precise. These stats are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s plenty more that reiterates LinkedIn’s status as a powerful social media platform.
LinkedIn’s unique market positioning unlocks new opportunities for brands
We see an overlap with some of the world’s leading social media networks. They often have features and tools that do the same thing. The user base tends to be similar as well since the primary objective of these networks is to entertain, not educate.
LinkedIn has been built from the ground up to be a place for professionals. It got its start as a recruitment platform where people created profiles and got scouted for new roles. They could also search for and apply to new positions through LinkedIn.
Over time, it has grown into a capable social media platform. Thought leaders now prefer uploading content on LinkedIn to immediately reach a vast like minded audience. This results in higher engagement and organic reach, something that’s fast becoming elusive on conventional social networks.
The issue of overlap is mitigated as well since there’s really no big competitor to LinkedIn. It exists in its own bubble with a target demographic that’s well aware that LinkedIn is the place they need to be in order to meet their professional objectives.
That’s what makes LinkedIn so unique among all of the social media networks. The demographic it wants seeks the platform out on its own because it’s the only true fit. On the other hand, a user might find TikTok more to their liking than Facebook so they may not use the latter at all.
With LinkedIn, professionals know that they must use this platform because that’s pretty much where the party’s at.
How to leverage LinkedIn to increase your brand’s influence
1. Use it to tell your brand’s story
LinkedIn's core demographic is already primed to interact with brands and particularly market leaders. They're actively seeking out content from these companies and want to learn the thought process of the people behind the brand.
Use this eagerness to your advantage by detailing your brand's story on LinkedIn. Think of it as a way to inspire followers and share content that provides them with value. This is also a great strategy for increasing brand visibility on LinkedIn.
The more people see content from your brand on LinkedIn, the more its influence is going to grow.
2. Host a live video conversation
Video content reigns supreme online and that’s one of the main reasons why LinkedIn made it possible for users to stream video live on the platform. LinkedIn users are no different from the rest of the social media users and they too prefer video content.
To grow their influence, brands can host live video sessions on LinkedIn. It can be anything from a fireside chat to a roundtable discussion or even a town hall with dozens of executives and employees.
Most people instantly prefer watching videos to reading a lengthy blog post. Live video can thus prove to be incredibly powerful when trying to expand your brand’s influence on LinkedIn.
3. Shed a positive light on your brand through employee advocacy
Authenticity thrives on social media and LinkedIn is no different. Brands can rely on employee advocacy to reach out more effectively to their target demographic.
It's always a good sign when employees stand behind their company's products. By having your employees vouch for it online, you not only improve the brand's influence but also expand product awareness.
4. Rely on user-generated content to create buzz
LinkedIn is a social network after all and that means user-generated content tends to do well on it. Brands need to have a conversation going in order to increase their visibility and organic reach. What better way to do that than through content contributed by users.
Ask your followers for content regarding their professional goals or about their vision for your particular industry. Any opinions and suggestions that they can provide will also help spark a conversation that leads to increased visibility.
5. Highlight your brand’s social good campaigns
People like to see the brands that they appreciate and support give back to the community. Social good campaigns serve a dual purpose. They're effective marketing tools and also a great way for brands to make a real difference.
It's the sort of content that does well on any social media network and it definitely has a place on LinkedIn. Brands can increase their influence on the social network by showcasing the causes they actively support.
Make LinkedIn one of the pillars of your social media marketing strategy
For a holistic social media marketing strategy, brands must consider LinkedIn as one of the pillars. There’s incredible value to be unlocked from the world’s only proper social media network for professionals.
Just by following these simple steps, brands can put themselves in control of the narrative on LinkedIn. This will help them attract more professionals and establish a great reputation on the platform.
Content created for Digital Harvest Marketing
Are you looking for help navigating the ever complicated digital marketing space? We can help!
The Harvest
